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Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck this week went public about ongoing contract negotiations with the union that represents rank-and-file officers, threatening that the Los Angeles Police Department would likely be forced to send home thousands of officers unless the union agrees to extend a deal on overtime benefits.

With the city facing its worst financial crisis in decades, the LAPD has not been paying officers overtime wages, except in rare situations, throughout the current fiscal year. In lieu of cash, police and union officials negotiated a deal in which officers are forced to take time off when they accrue 400 hours of overtime work. To make sure no officer reaches that trigger point, the department's new policy requires officers to stop working temporarily when they bank about 250 hours of extra work. Under the previous overtime rules, officers received cash once they accrued 96 hours of overtime.

The overtime agreement, however, expires on June 31. If the Los Angeles Police Protective League and city cannot reach an agreement on a new contract or the union refuses to grant an extension on the overtime policy while negotiations continue, the LAPD’s overtime rules would revert back to the 96-hour cap.

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